40 Ways to Aggressively Plan A Killer DUI Defense in Alabama

Need a killer DUI defense for your recent charges in Alabama?

Fortunately, you came to the right place.

If you have been arrested for DUI in Alabama, it is obviously cause for concern — but not despair. By hiring a highly experienced Alabama DUI defense lawyer who can protect your rights, the options and strategies available to beat your DUI increase significantly. We’ve laid out 40 strategies we’ve applied successfully to past client’s situations. These same strategies may work for you too.

Here’s a few ways the Alabama DUI defense attorneys at Kreps Law Firm, may be able to win your case. No matter what substance your case involves — illegal drugs, prescription drugs, medicine or alcohol — we can help.

How to Beat A DUI — 40 DUI Defense Strategies

1. ILLEGAL STOP OF PERSON OR VEHICLE – a driver cannot be stopped unless the officer has a reasonable and articulate basis to believe that a traffic law or other DUI Laws has been violated. Similarly, a person cannot be seized unless a violation has occurred.

2. WEAVING INSIDE THE LANES IS NOT ILLEGAL – weaving without crossing any lines is not a violation of the law, and a vehicle cannot be stopped for that reason.

3. ANONYMOUS REPORT OF DRUNK DRIVING – a car cannot be stopped simply because an anonymous citizen reported that the driver was drunk.

4. STANDARD FIELD SOBRIETY TESTING IS INACCURATE – in healthy individuals, the one-leg stand test is only 65% accurate, and the walk-and-turn test is only 68% accurate in determining if a person is under the influence. Those persons with injuries, medical conditions, 50 pounds or greater overweight, and 65 years or older cannot be validly judged by these tests.

6. BREATH TESTING IS INACCURATE – virtually all experts concede that one breath test alone is unreliable. Breath testing is subject to various inaccuracies, including a variance as much as +/- 12.5%, non-specificity for ethanol, etc.

7. BOOKING ROOM VIDEOS – Many police stations videotape suspects at the station, where their speech is clear and their balance is perfect, in spite of police testimony to the contrary.

8. IN-SQUAD VIDEOS – more and more often, the suspect’s driving and performance on field tests is being recorded; often contradicting police testimony.

9. FAILURE TO PROVIDE SPEEDY TRIAL – If a client is not provided with a trial within a certain period of time, which varies between states, through delays of the court or prosecutor, the charges must be dismissed.

11. HOSPITAL BLOOD TEST INACCURATE – Hospital blood tests overestimate a person’s true level by as much as 25% in healthy, uninjured individuals, and are not statistically reliable in severely injured persons.

12. BREATH TEST OPERATOR UNLICENSED – Most states require a Breath Test Operator to possess a valid, unexpired operator’s license, or the breath test result is inadmissible.

13. BREATHALYZER MACHINE MALFUNCTIONS – Most states specify that if there is a malfunction or repair of the breath test instrument within a certain period of time before or after a suspect’s breath test, the results of the suspect’s test are presumed invalid.

15. BREATH TEST DEVICE NOT APPROVED – A breath-testing instrument must be listed on the Federal List of Approved Breath Evidential Instruments and the ISP Approved List of Devices, or the results are inadmissible.

16. FAILURE TO PROVE DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE – A defendant’s admission to driving, without more, does not prove a charge of driving under the influence.

23. FAILURE TO CONDUCT OBSERVATION PERIOD – Most states require that a driver be observed continuously for a minimum period, such as twenty minutes, prior to a breath test in order for the results to be considered admissible and valid.

24. EXPERT WITNESSES – Expert witnesses are available to review the validity of breath tests, blood tests and field sobriety tests.

25. MEDICAL AND HEALTH PROBLEMS – Medical problems with legs, arms, neck, back and eyes can affect the results of field sobriety tests. Further, other medical conditions can also affect the validity of breath test results.

26. BAD WEATHER – Weather reports establishing high winds, low visibility, and other conditions are available to explain poor driving or poor balance.

27. LACK OF PROBABLE CAUSE TO ARREST – A police officer must have specific and articuable facts to support any arrest for DUI, or the suspension will be reversed and the evidence suppressed at trial.

28. ILLEGAL SEARCH – The police are prohibited from searching a person or the automobile for a minor traffic offense, and may not search a car without a driver’s consent or probable cause. Any evidence illegally obtained is not admissible in court.

29. PRIOR INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS BY POLICE OFFICERS – Any statement made by a police officer, verbally, in police reports, or at previous court proceedings may be used to attack that officer’s credibility.

30. POST-DRIVING ABSORPTION OF ALCOHOL – The prosecutor must prove the blood or breath alcohol at the time of driving. Recent consumption of alcohol just prior to driving will cause the test results to be higher than what the true level was when the person was operating the automobile.

31. INTERFERING SUBSTANCES – Many items contain forms of alcohol, which may cause false results, such as asthma spray, cough drops, paints, fingernail polish. These items can cause the breath results to be invalid.

32. BREATH MACHINE NOT PROPERLY OPERATED – The manufacturers of breath testing devices have specified protocols, which must be followed for a breath result to be valid. Failure to follow these requirements will result in improper readings.

33. FAILURES TO PRODUCE DISPATCH TAPES – Most stops of vehicles are recorded on dispatch tapes, as well as recording police communications regarding an arrest of an individual. Failure to preserve such tapes upon request can cause all evidence, which could have been recorded to be suppressed.

34. MISLEADING STATEMENTS BY POLICE OFFICERS – Any misleading statement by the police regarding the consequences of taking (or refusing) a blood, breath, or urine test will cause the suspension to be reversed and removed from the driver’s record.

35. STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS – A misdemeanor charge of DUI must be filed within a certain period of time of the date of offense, or the charges will be dismissed outright.

36. PRIVATE PROPERTY – A person who has not driven the car on a public highway cannot be suspended/arrested for drunk driving.

37. FAILURE TO DISCLOSE EXPERTS – The failure of the prosecutor to disclose the state’s expert(s) will cause those witnesses to be barred from testifying against the defendant.

38. LACTATE RINGERS – When hospital staff use lactate ringers during the treatment of a patient, the hospital blood serum results will report falsely elevated, and therefore invalid, readings.

39. FAILURE TO RECORD CERTIFICATION TESTS – the failure to include the value of the simulator solution used to test breath machines will cause the breath test results to be inadmissible in court against the driver.

40. FORCED BLOOD DRAWS – In some states, the police may not take a blood test against the driver’s consent where there has not been an injury involved, or the result is inadmissible.

If you are convicted of your drunk driving (DUI / DWI) charge, you are facing possible fines, jail time, and / or community service (DUI – DWI – Penalties Punishments.). Do not try to fight your drunk driving (DUI / DWI) charge or DUI Case Results by yourself. It is the prosecutor’s job to get as many criminal convictions as possible.

Note: These items are general in nature and may not apply to your case. A full evaluation of your case must occur in order to determine which defenses may apply.

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The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers - Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 7.2 (e).